Update on the Homeless Books and a Review of the Last Years Reading

I am happy to report that almost all the "throw away" books have been placed somewhere. I gave several away to friends, Ed took two boxes to work with him for coworkers, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters took what was left.

There were some books that were in such poor shape, they seemed destined for the trash truck. However, I did a little research and those books are finding new life as art. The pages from the dictionary that was falling apart have become decoupage pages, and have already covered a switch plate, a vase, and a desk organizer. The copy of "Runaway Ralph" that looks like Ralph got hungry and stopped to chew on his book, is going to be a clock. For those of you shuddering at the idea of dismantling a perfectly good book, rest assured that I feel the same way.  Most of these books are paperbacks that are falling to pieces, or that have significant water, insect or rodent damage.

Sadly, with everything else going on in my life, I seem to have little time left for reading. I have one shelf here next to my writing table that holds all the books I have aquired over the last year that I want to read. Since January, I have read nine books. Nine books in eleven months. That seems like a travesty to me. I can remember a time when I would have read nine books in two weeks. Oh well.

Here is the list::

Eolyn  by Karin Rita Gastreich
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me by Lisa Welchel
Prominent American Ghosts by Susy Smith
While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
A Companion of Lesser Brilliance by Eve Brackenberry and Paul McGlamery
Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I am not a book critic and I will never claim to be one, so what you read here is simply my opinion, and nothing more. I have my own tastes, just like everyone else. I'm not going to say any of these books were "good" or "bad", but I will say what I liked and what I didn't. You are free to read them yourselves, and form your own opinions. I have provided links to other reviews (mostly through "great reads") of these books as well.

Eolyn is a work of fantasty by a local author.  I fell headlong into that world and could not wait to see what happened next. I understand there is a sequal in the works, and look forward to reading it. If you like fantasy, get your hands on this book.

Outlander is what I would call a fantasy with historical fiction thrown in. Another page turner, but some parts were a little too erotic for my taste. A movie is in the works for this one.

The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me  is an autobiographical account of one of the stars of the sit com. Although I do not doubt the sincerity of Ms. Welchel's faith, her telling of it left me a little cold.

To be honest, Prominent American Ghosts and While My Pretty One Sleeps made such  weak impressions on me, I don't remember much about either one.

Lakota Woman was a fascinating look into the life of one of the Native Americans involved in the stand off at Wounded Knee in the 1970's. According to Good Reads, a movie was made from this one too.

Companion of a Lesser Brilliance is a book of poems by two local authors. The poetry itself is very good, but I felt the use of the "f" word unnecessary.

Messy Spirituality was an interesting little book. It talks about how committed Christians fall on their faces in sin, but get back up and keep trying.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Oh my goodness! This 800 page tome contains a great story, if you can find it! There were so many times I wanted to say "Oh, for heaven's sake, will you get on with it!" I saw where the BBC is making a series from it. This just might be one of those rare cases where the movie is better.

So there you have 11 months worth of reading. I get to start new books now. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Homes for Unwanted Books

I have an acquaintance who owns a book store. She mostly sells used books, but also carries new books by local authors. She also hosts book signings, poetry readings, and "Parkside Pickers", which is Ed, me, my sons, and whoever else we can get to come in with an instrument. We play the first Friday of the month.

A while back, she asked me if I would be willing to fill in for her at the store, if she had to be away. I told her I would, and have spent a couple days a week "learning the ropes". Sounds like my dream job, right?

Most of her innventory comes from people bringing in books for "store credit". What this means is that she gives them so much for each book, which they can use for half off store purchases. She gets in a lot of books. She really needs a bigger store.

Imagine my horror when I realized that books she can't sell, for one reason or another, end up in the dumpster. I'm not talking about unreadable books, I mean perfectly good books. She does donate some to the VA, but they will only take one box. I told her I would take them and find homes for them. She thinks I"ve lost my mind. Ok, well maybe temporary insanity.

Do you know what banana boxes are? They are the boxes in which bananas are shipped to the grocery stores. I have brought home about 10 of those full of books. Paperbacks, hard backs, children's books, romance novels, spy thrillers, text books, biographies, and just about every thing else you can think of. Did I mention we live in a very small house? Did I also mention that we already have about 2500 books? Ed was about ready to kill me. I told him that at least I didin't bring home things he has to feed!

So the house looks like a library blew up. There are books everywhere. I did call Children's Mercy Hospital to see if they take donated books. They do, but only 1985 printings or later. Something to do with old ink. Ok, that cut out most of these books, although there are 10 or 15 that would be ok. Ed's looking into some possibilites for some of the other books. My sons took some and my friend Mary was delighted to take some others. Some are going to stay here.

Although I could never bring myself to deface a good book, there are also a few here that need to be repurposed. I'm looking into that too.

I'll let you know how it goes. Next time, I'll catch you up on what I've been reading.

Usborne Books and More

Usborne books and More is an international company that sells children's books. Once upon a time, when they were simply known as Usborne Books, I thought they were extremely overpriced for the product I had seen. I was not impressed. When my mom’s friend Sara approached me about becoming a consultant, I cringed. Not only do I not do sales; I couldn’t sell a crust of bread to a starving man, there is no way I could bring myself to push a product I didn’t care for. Sara, who could sell the proverbial ice water to Eskimos, said in the past, she would have agreed with me, but things have changed. Now called Usborne Books and More, the prices have gone down and the quality has gone up. She said she would even pay for the starter kit for me if I would just take a look. Well…ok. After all, it is books.

When the box, which included several books, arrived, I couldn’t help myself; I dug in. The books ranged from touchy feeling books for babies, to a new thriller series for tweens. They were all well made, quality books, and best of all, the prices were competitive with anything one might find at a quality retail bookstore, only you probably wouldn’t find these books there. My personal favorite, called “Everyone Poops” by Taro Gomi, talks about all kinds of different creatures, including people, how and where they poop. Anyone who has ever tried to potty train a child will appreciate this book.


Katherine grabbed the book called “Sharks” and went off to read. She then went through the catalog and made a wish list of about fifty books, mostly about dinosaurs. My friend Mary, who is a published author, came by shortly after I received the books. In addition to looking over the selection I received, she also inspected how the books were made and was duly impressed by their quality.

The “and more” part of the new Usborne books includes kits and activity books. My kit included one called “Sticker Dolly Dressing Pop stars”. With over 400 stickers, and heavy pages, little girls, or whoever else might want to, could spend hours dressing three pop stars as they go through their day. Stops include a beauty shop, photo shoot, and on stage. “And more” also includes Kane/Miller books, recently purchased by Usborne, which produces children’s literature from around the world. From what I understand, school libraries are often anxious to access Kane/Miller materials. Both the previously mentioned thriller series, which is called “Conspiracy 365’ by Gabrielle Lord, and “Everyone Poops” are Kane/Miller Books.


Additionally, many of the books, like “Sharks”, are internet linked, which means that a tool has been created that will allow the child access to kid friendly sites to gain more information about the subject of the book.

Ok, I was impressed. There is still one problem. I don’t do sales. I definitely don’t do home parties, and the thought of asking someone to buy something turns my stomach.. Sara had told me she was doing a booth at a local fair in August. Well, I was going to be there anyway, so I told her I would help. I can fill out order forms, as long as I don’t’ have to talk much. Sara talks enough for both of us anyway. Then I though I should at least read the consultants material to learn more about it. That’s when I found out I didn’t have to do home parties. I could do what Sara was doing, working town fairs, I could do book fairs and preschool and daycare centers. I could even work with the local school libraries. Still all that would require that I talk to people. Then I saw it. Usborne Books and More sets each of its new consultants up with a free website for the first six months. Here was my niche. Maybe I could do this. So, I went online and found my site, all ready for me. It just needed a little tweaking. Now, Connie’s Usborne.com is up and running and I invite all of my readers to drop by and take a look. You can even host and eShow, or enter a drawing for a chance at fifty dollars worth of free books. Check it out.

Upheaval: Moving the Books

The last few months have been crazy on many fronts. First the house I have rented for the last eleven years was sold , and we have a very short time in which to find a new place and move. Thanks to a lot of prayer, and some good friends, we were able to do both. We moved into a much smaller home, which meant we had to downsize.

As one might imagine, after eleven years, I had a significant amount of “stuff”. I was willing to part with any and everything except for…you guessed it…my books. Although the sizes did vary somewhat, most of the boxes in which we moved the books were about one square foot. We moved sixty-three of them. Of course, we had to move shelves too, although, I was particular about which ones went. Most of the cheap particleboard shelves were left behind.

The new house has a long hallway down one side. It was perfectly designed to be lined with bookshelves, which is exactly what we have done. We lined up the shelves we had, and Ed built a few more. We also have four short selves in the living room, but two of those contain hymnals, music books, and sheet music (yes, its still technically books).

We have been moved about two months now, but the books are not settled yet. Many of them, although on the shelves, are stacked vertically instead of horizontally. Our goal is to have them all displayed horizontally, as they are easier to reach. Then I plan to use my limited IT education to create a database, so they are easier to keep track of.

Due to many extenuating circumstances, I haven’t been able to read as much as I had hoped. What little reading I have done, however, has been a delight. Although I have never read “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Dr. Maya Angelou, (I plan to now), I was able to pick up copies of “Gather in My Name”, and “Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now”. What wonderful, wonderful books! The first is another installment of her autobiography, and covers a short period in her late teens and early twenties. The second is a series of short observations and opinions.

Another book that I should have read long before now is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. A moving story of racism, justice, and doing the right thing, because it’s the right thing, during the great depression in the south, told from the viewpoint of a young white child. Sometimes children see much more clearly than we give them credit for. Great book!